AFP sources said that 2 explosions occurred in central Damascus near the hotel where President Emmanuel Macron stayed overnight.
According to sources, one bomb was placed in a trash can and the other was placed in a car near the Four Seasons hotel.
The explosion occurred at a time when the French President had left the hotel to the Syrian Presidential Palace to meet with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
After the explosion, the French side said that French President Emmanuel Macron was safe and continued his visit to Damascus.
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Damascus on the evening of July 6. This is the first visit of a Western European head of state since the new Syrian government came to power in December 2024.
Syrian top diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani welcomed French leader and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot at the airport.
I am here to express France's commitment to the Syrian people. For a Syria with sovereignty, unity in diversity and peace with neighboring countries" - Mr. Macron wrote on social media immediately after arriving in Syria.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Damascus earlier this year.
In May 2025, Mr. Macron received Mr. al-Sharaa on the first official visit of the Syrian leader to a EU country. This visit took place before the Syrian leader's visits to Berlin to meet Prime Minister Friedrich Merz and to Washington to negotiate with the administration of President Donald Trump.
No French president has visited Syria since Nicolas Sarkozy's visit in 2009.
On July 6, the Élysée Palace also said that now that the civil war in Syria has ended, President Macron will return 23 artifacts from Mesopotamian, Canaan, Nabataean, Palmyrene, Roman, Byzantine and Umayyad civilizations to Syria.
Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is also expected to attend the NATO summit this week in Ankara, Turkey. The White House said US President Donald Trump will talk to the Syrian leader on the sidelines of this event.
